1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to headwear and, more particularly, to a headwear piece with a cushion layer around a crown opening to facilitate conformance of the crown opening to the head of a wearer.
2. Background Art
The inventor herein recently made a significant improvement to conventional headwear. That improvement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,246 ("the '246 patent").
The invention in the '246 patent is directed to a headwear piece with a bladder on the crown that provides a deformable cushion layer between the crown and the wearer's head. The bladder and at least a portion of the crown are deformable to conform to the wearer's head. In one aspect of the invention in the '246 patent, the bladder can be selectively inflated and deflated to alter the effective diameter of the head-receiving opening on the headwear piece.
In commercially producing headwear according to the '246 patent, the inventor has encountered certain problems which the present invention overcomes. One such problem involves the bladder formation. The use of a plurality of small bladders in fluid communication with each other through small tubes, as described in the '246 patent, results in good conformity of the headwear piece to the head of a wearer. However, it is a relatively costly and complicated process to provide individual bladders and interconnect the bladders so as to allow communication of the fluid therebetween.
One alternative to providing separate bladder sections is to define the bladder using a continuous, flexible tube. The problem with a continuous tube is one that can be identified by attempting to reconfigure an inflated bicycle tube. The tube tends to resist a change from a circular shape, such as a change to oval which approximates the shape of a wearer's head. By forcing the tube into an oval shape, it will normally kink in different locations. With such a bladder incorporated into a headwear piece, uneven pressure may be applied around the circumference of the wearer's head as the bladder reconfigures. There also may be a tendency of the headwear piece to squeeze off of the wearer's head.
Another problem encountered by the inventor is that of securely connecting the bladder to the crown in a cost effective manner. While the sweatband is readily sewn onto the crown, the bladder portion confining the displaceable fluid cannot be punctured by a connecting thread to allow stitching. While the bladder connecting arrangement in the '246 patent does function effectively, there is room for improvement, particularly to facilitate production of headwear pieces on a high volume basis.
Further, the one way valve disclosed in the '246 patent, while fully functional as disclosed in that patent, does not lend itself to economical production on a commercial basis.